


Latte Love

by sublimeWaves



Series: 25 EXO Challenges [8]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Romantic Comedy, F/M, M/M, Unmentioned Side Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 14:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7577377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sublimeWaves/pseuds/sublimeWaves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lu Han tells people that he has only been single for a while.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Latte Love

**Author's Note:**

> Emotion: Investment  
> Word: Mainstream  
> Theme: Communication: Verbal and Nonverbal

LuHan tells people that he has only been single for a while.  He does _not_ tell people that a while is about ten years and his closest friends know this.

It was not because he was bad looking or had a horrendous personality, oh no.  Most of his friends, which he had a lot, found him pleasing to look at and although he had a tendency to be a bit too passionate when achieving goals, he was a catch.

He was also rich.

His father was the lead of one of the largest real estate corporations, which also owned a large portion of the downtown business district, which led him, as the only son, down a path meant to go into the business field until his father was ready to give up his company.  LuHan had accepted his fate, although he kind of wanted to do music as a teenager, but had grown to like the business he was to lead one day.

The pressure to do well in school was one of the reasons he had not dated in a very long time.  There was high school and then undergraduate and then finally business school.  All three at top schools in the country.  Now, he helped small startup companies sort out the business side that may have been neglected at first in favor of other costs.  It was a great paying job and it left him downtime in-between jobs.  He had no time to date.

It was fine until he had reached twenty-five and he realized he was one of the only people he knew in his friend group that was single.  Everyone was getting married and having kids and had relationships, except him.

Except that was not all.

Oh no, something else got under his skin one day when he was forced to listen to his friends stories on how they got together with their significant other as they sipped coffee at coffee houses.  If they told him their story, maybe he would actually start dating one of these days.  The stories were all picturesque as if they had come straight out of a novel or a romantic comedy.

LuHan did not think that was normal.

Things first started going downhill when Baekhyun (a son of a wealthy lawyer, LuHan’s family lawyer to be exact, and longtime friend of LuHan) was telling how he had met Chanyeol (a middle school music teacher).  He had received a text from a stranger to be at the clock tower near the park he lived in at midnight from a secret admirer.

After telling at least one person where he was going to be (for safety) he had gone to the clock tower out of curiosity.  When he arrived, no one was there other than what looked like a depressed hot man wearing a suit and holding a rose.  Baekhyun had asked the guy if he was the one he was supposed to meet.  It wasn’t.

Chanyeol had his girlfriend just reject his marriage proposal by revealing that she was cheating on him and was crying it out.  Baekhyun, forgetting his secret admirer, had decided to go get drunk with this man he just met to make him feel better.

They have been together for five years.

Then there was Yixing (LuHan’s best friend) and his fiancé meeting at the library.  They had realized they frequented the same aisle every Tuesday together.

Kyungsoo (an accomplished musician at a very young age) met Jongin at a party and they hit it off only for him to meet a dancer named Kai during a performance that he was in.  He was stuck between the two of them until he realized that they were the same person.  They have been together for two years.

Joonmyun (son an owner of a pharmaceutical company) met his wife at the supermarket when she left tiny notes for him in his cart when he would turn to look at something in the aisle.

Yuri (model) met her husband when she sat by the same man three times flying first class to Shanghai.

Jessica (daughter of a family friend) found hers at a train station in Paris.

It was like LuHan was the friend to the main character in every single damn romantic film there has ever been and it was common knowledge that the friend was usually only used for one scene and then left out of the ending credits.

So LuHan was determined to have the same thing.

He tried to think of romantic places that he loved and a conversation with Baekhyun about coffee shops, and LuHan’s love of all things coffee, set a lightbulb off in his head.

Unable to start his day without at two cups of coffee, LuHan often went to Espresso, an upscale coffee house that made the best coffee in the city and was actually known to be actually knowledgable about what they were brewing.  LuHan was picky about his coffee.  He used to brew his own at his apartment where he had bought the whole set-up that coffee houses use (because he _really_ needed his own personal industrial espresso maker).  He went every morning and read the news on his tablet.  He was always so tired and engrossed in his morning brew he had forgotten to look at the world around him.

At least at the customers.  He really liked Espresso as it had the best coffee but he could not help but notice how there could be changes to it.  If he owned it, he would bring more natural light in, making the place more inviting.  Outlets were hard to come by also, essential for the modern day coffee shop.  The biggest problem that he saw was in advertising their coffees and their assortment of delicious pastries.  There was also the boss that sometimes yelled at his employees in the back room but that was none of LuHan’s business.

He went scouting the next time went to Espresso to find someone that he could fall in love and live happily ever after with.  No one was catching his immediate interest.  The majority of customers fell into three categories: middle-upper class women who have too much time on their hands and giggled endlessly or bitched to each other, students who are in sweat pants and on some social media site instead of studying, and hipsters who look like they regularly take wheatgrass shots and enjoyed them. 

They were all boring as he swept through his stocks on his tablet.  That was until a man, looking about his age walked in.  He was in a grey suit, tailored, and nicely trimmed hair, a typical handsome business man.  His face looked a bit young but his face held a stern, neutral expression.  The man was undeniably handsome but there was something about the proportions of his face that piqued LuHan’s interest. 

He watched him order and then his expression changed as he smiled and thanked the barista.  LuHan’s heart stopped as he watched those lips curve upwards.  He had not seen anything that breathtakingly beautiful in a very long time.  This was his new target.  He needed to know this man.  The man sits down at one of the back tables and pulls out a laptop and some work out of his sleek briefcase.

There were many things LuHan had learned throughout life about himself and the first one was that the best course of action was to wait and watch and then act.  With that in mind, LuHan decided to just observe him for today.  He admires the man’s focus on his work, getting lost in it.  Noting that the man got there at seven in the morning, he also needed to remember that he left exactly at seven forty five.

The man comes in two more days in a row at the same time.  The last day is a Saturday and he is much more relaxed clothing.  He is in workout clothes, carrying a gym bag.  His hair is a bit sweaty and he looks like he was running.  His shirt doesn’t have sleeves and LuHan has no idea why in the world anyone would cover up their arms if they looked _that_ good. 

LuHan feels like a stalker but he feels in love already.  There is an artful curve to his eyebrows that he loves when he finds something interesting.  The man likes to also read books and do the crossword in the morning newspaper, which LuHan finds endearing. 

Three days is enough time to decide to make a move.  He does some research, watching romantic movies, to find his own story and how to approach the man.  It’s a Monday when he decides to strike.

The man sits at the corner back table every morning.  He goes to sit at the table next to him.  Thoughts fill his mind on whether the other has noticed him.  LuHan is quiet handsome, but also has vivid pink hair which was a bit unusual and therefore eye catching.  He waits until twenty pass the hour to ask if he can plug his tablet into the outlet next to the man’s table.  For the first and only time, he is glad that Espresso has no outlets.

The man turns towards him and blinks.  He looks confused and he blinks with long fanning eyelashes.  LuHan hopes the man does not notice how he is staring at his eyelashes.  The man takes the charger wordlessly and plugs him in and then promptly goes back to his book. 

LuHan was supposed to talk, but now it was too late since he had hesitated due to this man’s eyelashes.  That’s okay, he tells himself.  He tries to calm himself, frustrated that his plan did not work out.  It was a failure, but he has to get the charger back at some point and this time he will be ready and not be blinded by the man’s beauty.  He was just caught off guard, he rationalizes. 

Every second makes him hyperaware of the man and there is a small pool of anxiety in his gut that makes him not want to sit still.  The news is boring today and his stocks are fine and the baristas do not have enough napkins because their boss is a cheapskate.  LuHan finds this all boring, so he is almost forced to look at the only thing in this coffee shop worth looking at.

Watching the man also means catching a glimpse of his screen.  He realizes that the man is checking the football and he falls a bit more in love with the man.  There was no quicker way to LuHan’s heart than football.  He idly wonders if the man played as he came in all sweaty yesterday.

He waits twenty minutes before he goes over to ask for his charger back. 

Except, he is too late. 

The man is getting up, and leaving his table before LuHan can even talk to him.  He thinks about yelling out to the man, catching up to him, but something in his mind tells him to stop.  He doesn’t want to scare this man and risk not being able to go out with him.  Something in LuHan simmers as frustration comes over him.  He feels like a coward but he tries to stay optimistic.  Today, was just a fluke.  His flirting game is strong and he is irresistible, he assures himself.  Tomorrow will be better.

The next day brings in the first cold front of fall and LuHan thinks he can warm up the man and make him fall in love with him.  He buys one of the best coffeecakes that the coffee place offers.  LuHan loves these cakes but just doesn’t usually get them.  It does not help that they are shoved in the back of the display case and there are no prices on any of the items.  It was overall just poor marketing.

The cake is chocolate flavored and he is sure everyone likes chocolate, even the man.  He breaks it in half and eats half of it and drinks his drink a bit faster today.  The man sits next to him, minding his own business.  He’s reading today.  At half past seven LuHan gathers his things, takes a deep breath, and taps on the man’s shoulder.

“Would you like this?  I just can’t seem to eat it and I don’t want it to go to waste,” LuHan says.  There is hesitation in the man’s eyes, like he is unsure of why LuHan is speaking to him, but his eyes do shift to the coffeecake in question.

“No thank you, I am on a diet,” the man says.  His voice is deeper than LuHan expected for his face, but he is really not one to talk.  It’s a pleasant voice, one LuHan wouldn’t mind listening to endlessly.

The man promptly goes back to his work, turning away from LuHan.  A wave of annoyance and failure runs through him as he gathers his things.  He should of thought of that since the man obviously works out.  He is about to walk out of the store when the group of three older women who always sit next to him are saying that they will take it.  There should be a subtlety to flirting and these women just never seemed to get that memo.  LuHan leaves as fast as he can. 

He’s a bit mad at himself throughout the day.  He’s never really worked hard at many things.  School had been a breeze for him, even business school.  The whole situation was irritating him.  He had never had a problem attracting people, they just were not the right people for him.

He rants to Yixing for two hours that day about it until his best friend hangs up on him.

Luckily, LuHan has another plan and implements it the next day.  This one was a bit of a step up from his previous plans.  He uses a hat, a scarf, and sunglasses to mask himself outside of the shop and wait for the man to come in.  People stare at his disguise but he tries to blend in.  The man shows up and he goes in right behind him in line. 

All of the employees know him, love him.  They talk to him every day.  The cashier is a man this time.  This man gets to be a lucky bastard and is about to have one of the most beautiful smiles directed at him.  “The regular, Minseok?”

LuHan congratulates himself on this plan already.  He just learned the man’s name!  He is already patting himself on the back.  The name matches his pretty face.  Minseok waits patiently by the pick-up station as LuHan orders his drink.  It is not LuHan’s regular order, but one that is close to Minseok’s order but just a tad different.

He joins the man as they wait and pretends to fidget with his phone. The man seems to either be deep in thought or is absentminded at the way he looks at the wall in concentration. This café doesn’t use names, just drink orders when they are made and ready to be picked up.  Minseok’s order is called by the barista.

The man is slow to get his drink, slow to react in general, LuHan has noticed.  Expertly, LuHan slides his hand over and past the man’s to get to the coffee.  He lifts it up and pretends to examine it. Through the corner of his eye he sees that the man is a bit panicked.  He looks shy and absolutely adorable.

“This isn’t mine,” he declares as he examines it for a couple more seconds.  He makes a show of looking around for a second before focusing on the man in front of him.  Eyes wide from the attention.  He looks like to say something but it is dying in his throat.  It is that moment LuHan declares himself in love.  “Is it yours?”

“Yes,” Minseok manages to get out, face returning to his regular neutral expression.  He plucks the coffee from his hands, fingers unlingering.  He looks like he is about to turn away and LuHan is not going to let that happen right now.

“You have good tastes.”  LuHan compliments.  The man doesn’t seem to have heard, shuffling quietly to his normal table.  LuHan wants to slap himself as he picks up his own coffee.  This was his chance and he just fucking blew up.  He beats himself up by texting his friends that he needs help and needs help now.  They don’t immediately respond.  Kyungsoo just tells him to stop being so dramatic.

He makes a chat with Yixing, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo who are the only ones on that they say.

He fills in Yixing, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo on his attempts to woo Minseok and how he is finding himself to be a bad flirt and that no one loves him.  Kyungsoo stops him before he laments about being alone forever too long.   Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are unsurprisingly unsympathetic.

 

[Kyungsoo 7:22]  _Just go after someone else._

 

[Baekhyun 7:24]  _There are more people in the sea then just this one_ _man._

 

[LuHan 7:25]  _But he is perfect.  You don’t understand.  I like and want him._

 

[Kyungsoo 7:25] _You don’t always get what you want._

 

[LuHan 7:26] _But I do!_

 

[Kyungsoo 7:26] _Stubborn ass._

 

[Baekhyun 7:29] _What if he doesn’t like guys?_

 

[LuHan 7:29] _Don’t kill my dreams!_

 

[Baekhyun 7:31] _You need to get out of this pity party._

 

LuHan is furious.  Why doesn’t this guy like him?  Why doesn’t he even _notice_ him?  He feels so stupid.  Maybe he should give up.

The next day brings LuHan thinking he might take a bigger risk.  If this doesn’t work, then he is going to be forced to take drastic measures.  This includes giving him up and LuHan living alone for the rest of his life.  He looks up animal shelters for cat adoptions just in case.  He tries to calm himself before he begins.  LuHan tries to casually lean over to the next man’s table but it looks like a creepy awkward glide.   “Hey what are you reading?”

The man doesn’t respond as Minseok looks up to the door and a short man with brown curls and a smiling face waves to him.  The man is dashing in a suit, Lu Han feels the disappointment leak into his skin.  What if this is the man’s boyfriend?

The panic that the man causes as he orders and gets his drink is almost unbearable.  He sits down at Minseok’s table and smiles about.  LuHan pretends to read his tablet as the conversation starts.

“I forget you wake up so early.”  The other man starts out.  He looks like he needs an extra espresso shot.

Minseok seems to pay no mind to the other’s tiredness and sips on his coffee.  “We were roommates.”

“Oh yes, how could I forget how you woke me up every single morning even when I was hungover so that you could go for a run?  Where has my memory gone?”  The man asks sarcastically.

“You drank it away in college,” Minseok comments dryly.

 They talk about work for a good while.  LuHan can still not make out their relationship beyond going to school together but he enjoys listening in on the conversation.  He gets to hear Minseok’s voice for one and the other benefit was learning all this great stuff about him.  Minseok is a very important accountant and the man, Jongdae, is a wedding photographer.  They then talk about a mutual friend in college who is getting married.

“Are you going to Changmin’s wedding?”  Jongdae asks.

Minseok nods.  “I was planning to.  I’m the one who knew him better.”

“Who are you going to take?”  The question makes the other sigh as if he is tired of being asked this question.  He drinks his coffee and looks right pass his companion.

“No one.”  Hope rises through LuHan’s chest, anxiety melting away.

Jongdae sighs like he is tired of hearing this answer.  He tries to come up with a suggestion.  “Maybe that guy from your soccer thing.”

“It’s not just a thing and he is eight years older than me,” Minseok answers, looking a bit uncomfortable with that fact.  LuHan on the other hand is ecstatic.  He was right about Minseok playing soccer.

“You really like boring mature people.”  A bit of the anxiety came back.  LuHan would not describe himself as boring.

“Just because he is older doesn’t mean he is mature and who said I liked that?”  Minseok gets a bit defensive and the anxiety in LuHan simmers down.

“I thought you would like someone who is just like yourself,” Jongdae says as he tries not to chuckle at his own joke.

“Thanks, that’s a great way to sell myself.  I’ll stick it on that dating website that you put me on,” Minseok says sarcastically.

“You’ve never used it, have you?”  Jongdae asks.

“I don’t want to meet anyone online.”

“Because you are doing _so_ well with meeting people in person!”  The way Jongdae says it makes LuHan think that Minseok is kind of down on luck with the whole dating situation.  He wonders if it is because Minseok is a bit oblivious, or LuHan assumes him to be because LuHan’s flirting game is on point and Minseok has been unreceptive. 

“It just doesn’t have the same feel.”

“Please, please don’t tell me you are one of those romantic people who think they are going to have some love story somewhere,” Jongdae pleads.  Minseok just kind of looks away, not responding and his companion just puts his head in his hands.  “You know that really doesn’t happen?  I have never met anyone who has gotten together like that.”

“You don’t know.”  LuHan thinks to all of his friends who have those exact stories.

“What are you going to do?  Date a barista?”  Jongdae asks incredulously.

“I would actually really like that,” Minseok says.

“Are you kidding me?  Just ask one of them then.”  There is a light dusting of pink that sprinkles on Minseok’s cheeks.

“They all have partners,” Minseok says quickly.  LuHan wonders if he is lying.

Jongdae just mutters the word ‘useless’ under his breath as they move on to talk about Changmin’s bride before they leave.  The conversation makes LuHan want to smile so widely.  Minseok likes boys, is single, and a romantic just like him.  He has a chance and he is perfect for him.  LuHan knows exactly what to do as he asks to see the manager of Espresso.

Espresso’s owner is the meanest looking man LuHan has never seen.  He’s fat and frowns and looks stubborn as hell.  He looks exactly the opposite of the really friendly staff and the really nice manager that talked to LuHan.  The manager had even told him that the man was really strict and mean but the staff loved the place and people too much and luckily were given some freedoms when it came to coffee.  All other business decisions were this man who apparently did not know too much about coffee.

“We are fully staffed, we don’t need another one of you hipster people with your funky colored hair here,” the owner says when LuHan comes in, not even bothering to look at the resume presented to him.

“I have business experience and I know how to work the espresso machine,” LuHan counters back.  He is way to overqualified for this job but he did work as a cashier in his last year of business school for a class to get extra credit.

“I don’t care.   Your pink hair and face annoys me.”  LuHan frowns as his fingers dig into his skin.  He tries to let the comments roll over him and not let them get to him.

“Please, hire me.  I really would appreciate the job and I have recommendations if you would look at my resume.”

The man puts the paper in the trash.  “I don’t think so.  Get out of my sight.”

LuHan fumes at being treated so poorly.  The man has already turned away from him.  LuHan knew he was not going to win his this argument but he is still mad.  He scowls before he turns around with a great idea.  “Who do you pay rent to?”

The man pays rent to the Lu Corporation.  LuHan smiles as he calls up his father and proceeds to buy out the man within the week.  He goes in a week later as the owner leaves, making sure the man knows _exactly_ who he wronged, and smiles at the staff and manager, telling them that they are to keep their staff and name.  He closes for a day and stocks up on business material and makes the changes that he thought the place would always need including putting more outlets into the place. 

His father sees it as an investment and a week later they have received great praise for the place and the staff seem happier with him as a boss.  Their dry products have seen a fifty percent rise in sales and the customers are happy about the new lighting and outlets. 

He asks the manager if he could be a barista for a bit to see how the place works under normal hours.  He does this an afternoon so he does not look completely stupid the next morning.

Minseok comes in the next morning and LuHan gets the order, as they are not bogged down at that second, when he slides the order out and Minseok thanks him, smile plastered on his face.  LuHan feels privileged.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your name,” Minseok says.  “I know everyone else here and I thought you were just a customer.”

“That is actually a funny story.”  There is excitement in LuHan’s voice as he responds.  “LuHan.”

“Thank you, LuHan.  Maybe one day you can tell me that story”

Everything was worth it, LuHan decides in that moment.  LuHan works hard because even if he did buy this shop to be with Minseok, he actually really likes Espresso and enjoys the job.  It feels good to use the skills he always knew he had.

The next morning he makes Minseok coffee again and decides to be the boldest person that he can be.  He writes his number on the side of the cup he uses for Minseok’s order. 

Now, it was out of his hands.  He watches as Minseok smiles at him, thanks him, and sits down.  He watches as Minseok goes to leave, he watches as he is about to throw away the cup and notice the number and LuHan’s name.  LuHan’s pretends to be busy as his cheeks redden, heart going a mile a minute.

The man promptly throws away the cup without noting the number and LuHan feels his heart drop as he closes his eyes and looks away from the main area and stare at the wall.  Is this what heartbreak feels like?  He’s whipping his phone out when the cashier taps him on the shoulder to tell him a customer wants to talk to him.  He hopes it is not the women again.  He can’t stand them and they have been ordering more drink than usual.  He turns around.

There is Minseok, casually by the counter as he sees LuHan and smiles a bit.  Everything in LuHan’s mind tells him to abort mission.  Sell the place, never come back.  He puts on his business face instead.  “You wanted to see me?”

“Do you want to go on a date?”  Minseok asks and LuHan’s mind loses it as he tries to get his tongue to function and register what Minseok is saying.  Say yes, say yes he tells his brain.  LuHan smiles instead and accidently knocks iced coffee meant for the next customer on himself instead.

He’s so embarrassed he is about to bolt by Minseok laughs and it is such a sweet sound that LuHan thinks it is worth it.  He frantically cleans himself off which also gives himself time to calm down and tries not to pump his fist in the air in victory.  He turns around.

“I would like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you ship XiuHan and write fanfiction and don’t write a Coffee Shop AU, then are you really a XiuHan shipper?  
> Haha, kidding, kidding.  
> Can you buy a shop and reopen in two weeks? I don’t know but imagine LuHan has so much money he can.  
> The moral of this story is be rich and spend a ridiculous amount of money frivolously to impress your crush. In all truthfulness, be bold and take a chance.


End file.
